4 Reasons Your Child Is Always Tired

Help! My Child Is Always Tired!

As a parent, it only makes sense to create an environment that facilitates the health, safety and well-being of your child. This is why it’s so important to be an attentive parent. If you notice something that’s unusual or off, it’s your duty to address and rectify the issue.

When it comes to parenting in the early years, it’s not uncommon for the child to run circles around the parent. Most parents do their best to survive on a few hours of sleep and loads of coffee. However, if you find yourself in a position where you’re running circles around your child, something is off.

This means that your child is always tired, and this should raise a few questions. A child shouldn’t be in a state of total lethargy all the time. If you’ve noticed that your child is always tired, understand that there is a way to approach it. Take a look at the following reasons that can point to why your child is always tired. Consider implementing the following solutions as well.

Reasons Why Your Child Is Always Tired:

1. Your child isn’t getting enough rest.

While there are tons of parents who can’t wait for bedtime, there are others who allow their children to stay up for hours. This is not a great idea. It’s important for a child to get their rest so that they can have the energy to function the following day. Plus, when they’re in such a critical developmental period, their bodies need the opportunity to recharge.

A lot of growth spurts happen during childhood. This might be the reason why parents think their child is always tired. After all, it’s not uncommon for a child to grow a few inches within a few months. When you allow your child to stay up until the wee hours of the morning, this is going to have a direct impact on their ability to be alert and focused throughout the day.

In order to rectify this situation, it might be challenging to try an earlier bedtime with the cold turkey method. Instead, help your child work their way up to an earlier bedtime. If they tend to wind down by midnight, start to aim for 11 pm. Each night, make sure to bump the time back 15 minutes.

Do your best to avoid overstimulation before bedtime. If you have a toddler, it’s not bad to aim for 7 or 8 pm as their new bedtime. There are tons of studies that show how the quality of sleep increases when a person gets to bed before midnight.

Plus, when you put your child in bed, this means that you’ll be able to have an earlier bedtime yourself. Use a full two weeks to work on shifting the bedtime schedule. As you move to make it earlier, you can try different tactics to trick your child into believing it’s later than it actually is.

Blackout curtains make the room seem pitch-black. Even when it’s 8 pm and still bright outside, you can use the blackout curtains and hang out in their bedroom until it’s time to go down.

2. Your child’s nutritional habits need improvement.

If you tend to feed your child lots of sugar-packed cereals, desserts and treats, your child isn’t receiving the nutrition they need to support their body. While it might seem easier to feed your child fast food because of a hectic schedule, realize that this doesn’t anything to fuel their body’s need for energy.

Instead, start providing healthy meals on a consistent basis. When your child is always tired, always make sure they’re eating breakfast as it’s one of the most important meals of the day. Remember that it’s not enough to enjoy a quick pop-tart or instant waffle. Instead of cereals packed with sugar and white flour, consider trying oatmeal with fresh fruit. Scrambled eggs, toast and a green smoothie make a great power breakfast combination.

Do your best to include fruits and vegetables in every meal. For snacks, try apple slices instead of pudding. Instead of salty chips, try carrots with hummus. Dinner might include a side salad for maximum nutrition. It’s also a great idea to make sure your child receives their daily vitamins.

Purchase vitamins in gummy or chewable form to increase the likelihood of intake. Get rid of sodas and juices with tons of sugar. Your child will get a sugar spike, but they’ll end up crashing. If your child is always tired, a sugar spike and crash are the last things you want them to experience.

Instead, it’s wise to incorporate more water into the regimen. If your child prefers some flavor, it’s okay to add a few lemon slices and a few strawberries to taste. Do your research to find out the recommended amount of sugar your child can have in one day. Researchers tend to share that number in grams.

Once you’re clear on the amount, always read the labels. Two cups of soda could easily exceed a specified amount when you’re not paying attention.

3. Your child’s schedule is too hectic.

As a parent, it only makes sense for you to make sure your child has a packed schedule. After all, if they’re not mentally stimulated and challenged, you’re not providing the best educational experience for them. While it is important to make sure your child remains occupied and mentally stimulated, it is possible to overschedule them.

If they’re waking up early in the morning for daycare or school, they have to sit through a full day in the classroom. Then, if you’ve scheduled after-school activities for them, this requires more energy. This is especially true if the activities are physical ones like swimming, gymnastics and basketball.

Instead, consider dialing back on their daily activities. If your child is always tired, give them more margin to relax. There are plenty of parents who sign their children up for after-school activities because it keeps the children occupied until they complete the work day. However, instead of signing your child up for yet another after-school activity, consider hiring a babysitter.

The babysitter can pick your child up after school. Once they come home, the babysitter can allow the child to take an afternoon nap before it’s time to start homework. This one shift might make a major difference in a child’s ability to recharge and feel more alert throughout the regular day.

It is possible to overstimulate your child. While it’s completely noble and honorable to make sure your child is exposed to new concepts, new friends and new experiences, it should never come at the expense of their health. Develop a partnership with your child’s teacher.

If the teacher asks why your child is tired, be honest about the various problems you’re looking at. Most teachers have experienced at least one child who seems to be more lethargic than the others. As a result, they might have their own solutions to offer.

4. Your child isn’t receiving quality sleep.

Lastly, when you’re examining the various reasons why your child is tired, it’s important to consider their sleep regimen. If your child is getting to bed on time, but they’re restless in the bed, they’re going to be tired throughout the day.

This is why it’s such a wise idea for parents to implement a sleep regimen that’s consistent and practical. When your child is always tired because of the lack of quality rest, you’ll want to be intentional about creating an environment that invites optimal rest. Utilize black-out curtains to create a dark room.

Eliminate the nightlight if that promotes overstimulation. A sound machine works for many children. Whether you use white noise, ocean sounds or rainforest sounds, consider a sleep app or sound machine that provides relaxation. When it’s time to take a nighttime bath, use soaps and lotions with lavender.

Lavender has a calming effect. Consider purchasing a diffuser. Fill the diffuser with essential oils like eucalyptus and lavender. Both oils are known to help with relaxation as well. Make sure the house remains quiet once it’s time for bed.

In the case where your child is always tired, you’ll want to make sure that their dinner is nutritious enough to satiate. If your child is going to bed on an upset stomach, this will play a role in their ability to sleep deeply. When a child is always tired, it’s a great idea to give them a bedtime drink.

Warm up a cup of soy milk or almond milk. Add a chamomile tea bag to the milk. Let it boil. Once it cools down, let your child drink the warm milk. This combination can do wonders for a child’s ability to drift off to a peaceful and deep sleep.

Conclusion

In order to get clear on the potential reasons why, consider implementing a trial-and-error period. As you consider various solutions, don’t be afraid to get professionals involved. Once you take your child to their primary care physician for a standard check-up, don’t forget to bring this issue up.

Be direct in asking them why is my child tired. The physician typically sees various issues all the time. Therefore, they’d have solutions to offer from a medical standpoint. The same concept applies to a nutritionist. Find a nutritionist who might be able to help you understand why your child is tired all the time.

Once you examine these four areas and consult the help of medical professionals, you should be able to get an answer to your question. As a result, your child will get more sleep.